Eagle Byzantium

In the courtyard next to Barak, there were also Fir, the commander of Tubersena, and Cusus, the commander of La Vodra. They both occupied extremely dangerous passes and strong and rich castles. A very honorable nobleman among the Armenians.

Because they heard the news of Tancred's siege of Antioch, Fehr and Cusus each brought 500 cavalry, preparing to transfer here to join the Normans. Then a few days ago, Bohemond sent Taprunzi, who was also an Armenian, arrived in Edessa with his guard (so Taprunzi did not actually participate in the battle of Blood Valley) and was responsible for delivering the message for him.

The purpose of Taplenz's trip was simple, he came to ask for money.

According to the original negotiation between Bohemond and his nephew, in order to pay the debts of the Pisa merchant fleet, he had to borrow goods equivalent to 7,000 Byzantine gold coins from the city of Edessa and repay them to the Pisa people before he could see Xia Xia. sun, otherwise the creditor will give him a good look.

However, these 7,000 gold coins alone can only meet the urgent needs. Bohemond still needs nearly 40,000 gold coins to pay off the terrible and heavy debts he has incurred since he sent out troops.

The Pisa people now demanded a debt of forty thousand gold coins, half of which was to be paid in cash, and half of which could be paid by shipping from Antioch to the port of San Simeon and by exclusive rights in the neighborhood. To put it simply, Bohemond still needs 20,000 gold coins to turn around, but where does he have this money on hand now?

So Taprunz, as an envoy, made a condition: Fer and Cusus each paid five thousand gold coins, and the remaining ten thousand gold coins were drawn from the annual tribute of the city of Samosata owned by his nephew Tancred.

In this way, the situation was very embarrassing: the Armenians welcomed Tancred as their leader, but they did not want to pay him all the income. For example, Fell said excitedly that the grain he produced in his territory every year , olive oil, wool and honey, the income is only 4,000 Byzantine gold coins. Now the lion is opening its mouth. We have to provide people and money at the same time. It is really unbearable.

Another Kusus also had the same feeling.

On one side, Taprenz was secretly happy because he belonged to Prince Reuben. To put it bluntly, Prince Reuben not only hoped to use the Normans to improve relations with the Pilgrim forces, but also had a strong influence on the tanks. Red occupied Marash and Samosata, and was dissatisfied with the allegiance of many Armenian lords - the person who unified the entire Cilicia, the real "King of the Mountains" should be me.

Therefore, Taprunzi began to openly instigate, fan up the flames, and attack the Normans. This behavior was really excessive, and he did not take the Armenians into consideration at all.

Therefore, everyone tended to be centrifugal. Thanks to the hard mediation and explanation by the governor of Edessa, Barak, everyone finally decided to give the other side seven thousand gold coins first, and then we went to the city of Antioch to help in the battle, and brought this gorgeous Expensive tents are given as gifts, and other payment requirements can be negotiated and reduced gradually.

As a result, at this moment, the scout patrol cavalry from the direction of Suqia City told them the terrifying news as they were preparing to set off: Kobuha, the most powerful Turkic prince in Khorasan and Mosul, led an army of nearly 100,000 people. , and countless emir chiefs, are already only thirty kilometers away from the city of Edessa!

Barak, the consul of Edessa, was immediately frightened to death. Wearing a silk robe, he immediately raised his hands, knelt down and begged the lords to help him defend the city. The gates of Tique are not protected, and even the way for the Turks to seize the city of Samosata will be opened. "

Then when he saw that everyone was silent, he made a generous offer: 7,000 Byzantine gold coins. He was not going to give them to Tancred for the time being, but would give separate rewards to Feir, Kusus and Tapu. Lenz and the three of them, as for the tent, he is also willing to give it to Prince Ruben as a gift.

People always have to worry about their own territory and interests being protected from infringement, and all loyalty must be based on this.

Two days later, the vigorous battle to defend the city of Edessa began. The three Armenian lords who agreed to the consul's invitation received large sums of money as rewards. They worked hard with their tribes and garrison troops and relied on the strong castle to fight to the death. Kobuha's army resisted on the outside of the trench, preventing it from advancing even half a step.

At the same time, Barak also hurriedly wrote an urgent letter in Greek, claiming in it, "I was fiercely besieged by Turks as numerous as a desert of stars, and the commander of the other side was a mogul who came to aid Achish Siyan. Kobuha, the governor of Sur, who has an army of 200,000, will also contact Ridwan in Aleppo, and The two Turkic chiefs Dukak of Damascus joined his terrible camp. Although I relied on the blessing of the Lord and the bravery of my soldiers to repel the opponent's siege many times, Kobuha would not stop at my castle. After fighting for a long time, he quickly led the main force across the Euphrates River, and then headed south to fight with you. "

The cavalry serving as messengers galloped quickly, and the news from Edessa quickly reached the siege position of Antioch.

At that time, the uninformed coalition forces of Gawain, Baldwin, and Bohemond were already densely packed in the open area only four hundred feet away from the dog gate. They gathered about 1,200 well-equipped warriors on foot, wearing Beautiful and mighty Helmets or chain turbans, wearing chain armor that can protect against arrows and axes, holding shields of various colors, formed a dense and deep formation, noisily beating swords and shields, towards the city gate guarded by the Turks The city walls shouted demonstrations and prepared for a general attack.

Behind them, there were nearly a thousand military servants and armed civilians holding shovels and pickaxes, carrying wooden boards, and wearing padded jackets. These people would take on the responsibility of assisting in the destruction in the upcoming offensive war.

Above these brave warriors: three, namely the Grand Duke of the Roman Empire, the Count of Adana, and the Duke of Apulia, stood on the high ground of the ramparts. In front of their eyes, many siege machines were pouring countless stone bullets at Antioch. The dull sound of hitting was endless, shaking everyone's eardrums. The tower on the dog gate had been completely destroyed by the concentrated fire bombardment day after day. The city walls were scattered and broken, trembling and groaning. The streets behind the city walls were full of uneasy and frightened cries, mixed with the desperate chanting of the Crescent Moon believers.

"I didn't expect that the city that we originally thought could not be taken by manpower in our experience would have its gates open in danger one day." Bohemond touched his red beard and looked at Gawain beside him with a smile.

A correct version at 16-9 Book Bar!

Gawain was thinking about the other party's idea, but he didn't say it out loud. "Yes, we must first occupy Antioch, and then use it as a springboard to defeat the pagan enemies from all directions one by one."

"How to occupy it?" Bohemond really asked this question. His voice was still very clear and harsh amid the whistling and colliding sounds of the stone bullets. (To be continued ~^~)